Of course, if the platypuses had a theory of Beauty, they would surely count themselves among the more beautiful creatures. The question is whether they would be justified in doing so for reasons beyond sexual attraction. Under our theory of the Awesome, which holds expression as primary, they would not. For the physical form of the platypus is the result and expression of its history, just as are those of lions and humans. And what determines any creatures place in the hierarchy of Beauty—and determines in large measure its physical form—is the scope and spirit of its expression. The expression of the hunting-predator is wider and deeper than that of the foraging-predator—it implies a farther reaching and more comprehensive relationship to the milieu or environment, and imparts these to the physical form of the creature. And naturally, the scope and spirit of expression of the more creative animals will be wider and deeper, which is precisely what makes Human Beings the most beautiful creatures on the planet: the "role" that humans play in the evolutionary history of the Earth—truly the sole creator, in imatatio Dei, as it were—allows us to express more, to imply more of the rest of the Universe than any other creature on the planet.